My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 63 Bodhisattva with lowered brows, Vajra with wrathful eyes
Judging that the time was about right, Zhou Jingming began to look forward to the arrival of Lao Tang and his group.

In the past, the water pump would start before Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang even went up the mountain to exercise, but today it didn't start until both of them had finished exercising.

Zhou Jingming guessed that they were unable to continue drilling because of the difficulty in draining the water.

If they can't do it, that means trouble might follow.

Although Lao Tang said to Zhou Jingming that he was blind to Zhou's greatness and apologized insincerely, it was because he felt that Zhou Jingming had some value and wanted to keep him around to see if there was a chance to win him over later.

But these days, he hasn't come to the dugout again. He probably knows that the banquet that day was more likely to offend people. If too few people come, they might not leave alive; if too many people come, it could very well lead to a conflict.

Now that a rich mine has been discovered, he doesn't want to lose any of his manpower, so he'd rather focus on mining.

Wu Yang had obviously noticed the situation on Lao Tang's side as well, and asked directly, "Brother Zhou, when do you plan to make a move against them?"

"Wait a little longer. Some things still need to be done legitimately! A good reputation is always better than a bad name that makes people shudder."

Zhou Jingming pondered for a moment: "When we had a conflict with them, there weren't many people in this valley. Others didn't know what grudge we had with the Tang group. If we made the first move, the gold prospectors in this valley would think we were troublemakers who were deliberately stirring up trouble, and people would be wary of us no matter what we did in the future."

If we're strong enough, that's fine. The key is that we only have a few people, and we can't afford to be in the eye of the storm.

I have always believed that in life and in work, one should have both the gentle kindness of a Bodhisattva and the fierce temper of a Vajra!
The feud was started when he threatened me, and this matter cannot simply be left unresolved.

"Just wait patiently for them to come. With so many people arriving in the valley, it's time to establish our authority. Otherwise, any Tom, Dick, or Harry will dare to plot against us."

His main concern was that he didn't want to leave the gold prospectors in the valley with the impression of being unfriendly.

Unfriendly guests are generally disliked and unpopular, hindering efforts to win over people.

"Bodhisattva, Vajra... these are too profound!"

Wu Yang gazed at the valley below, the cigarette dangling from his lips trembling as he spoke.

Zhou Jingming smiled and said, "I believe you know what I mean... Go back!"

Jin Wang was full of energy. As soon as Zhou Jingming entered the forest, he sniffed around and scurried among the trees around them.

When Zhou Jingming called out, it was near the entrance of a mouse hole, sniffing the entrance with its nose, and then quickly scratching at the entrance with its paws.

The opening of the rat hole, which was about the size of a wrist, was dug out to be the size of a washbasin. It went in more than a foot deep and got covered in mud.

However, at such a time, how could the rat easily leave its hole and give it an opportunity to escape?

Hearing Zhou Jingming's call, it turned its head to look at Zhou Jingming, then at the mouse hole. Listening to Zhou Jingming's receding footsteps, it shook off the dirt on its body and chose to follow.

As usual, after breakfast, the group grabbed their tools and headed to the small peninsula to begin their day's work.

Noticing the unusual behavior of Lao Tang and his group, Zhou Jingming did not send Peng Yuanchao down into the mine to lead the work. Instead, he left Peng Yuanchao up there to work with Sun Chenggui in hauling the excavated mud and sand.

Strangely, it seemed like Old Tang's group was collectively sleeping in, with only occasionally someone coming out of the earthen tent to relieve themselves, and then returning to the tent afterward.

"What are these bastards doing? Are they trying to take advantage of us again?"

Peng Yuanchao delivered a truckload of mud and sand to the chute. As Zhou Jingming offered him a cigarette, he asked a question in a low voice.

It has to be said that leaving a bad impression will inevitably lead people to immediately think the worst of everything you do. Zhou Jingming had a similar thought: "Very likely..."

It wasn't until nearly noon that Lao Tang and his group came out of their tents. Some people lit a fire to cook, while others lazily sunbathed on the riverbank. Lao Tang, along with Dwarf and a few others, pointed and gestured around the sand pit they had dug.

Even from a distance, you could see that the sandpit was already filled with water.

Then, they saw Zhang Aizi call a few people, tie ropes to the diesel engine, and use poles to lift the water pump to the riverbank.

After finishing these tasks, Lao Tang returned to his tent and did not come out. Most of Zhang Aizi and his group sat idly on the riverbank, with only four or five people wandering around, turning over pebbles here and digging up mud there. Some even used golden buckets to fill with mud and sand to wash it in the river.

Judging from their idle appearance, they must be preparing to abandon that riverbank.

Seeing that there was no major commotion, Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang simply glanced at it casually and went about their business.

After lunch, during a break, Peng Yuanchao took the double-barreled shotgun, which he had never used before, down from the pillar against the wall of the dugout. He then found a piece of cloth, took it outside into the sunlight, and breathed on it to wipe it clean.

Zhou Jingming, who was smoking nearby, laughed and said, "Brother Peng, who cleans a gun like that? It's not like you're cleaning glasses. Why don't you take it to the river to wash it?"

Peng Yuanchao knew Zhou Jingming was joking: "I forgot to buy sewing machine oil."

Specialized gun cleaning oil is troublesome to buy and not cheap. These days, gun enthusiasts prefer to use sewing machine oil, which can be bought in department stores, to clean and maintain their guns.

Zhou Jingming knew why Peng Yuanchao had taken out his gun to clean it today. It was because of the strange behavior of Lao Tang and his gang that Peng Yuanchao was feeling uneasy. Having a gun in hand gave him the greatest comfort. Or perhaps, he really wanted to risk everything to protect the small peninsula and didn't want it to be taken away by others.

Watching him awkwardly aim the gun at the small peninsula, Zhou Jingming chuckled and asked, "Brother Peng, have you never used a gun before?"

Peng Yuanchao didn't hide anything: "To be honest, I've never touched it before. In my hometown, it's all loess ridges, with only a few trees scattered around. Besides digging up the loess soil to grow crops, unlike other places where you can hunt or do other things, all I know how to do is grow crops."

Do you know why I came out to pan for gold?

Before Zhou Jingming could ask, he continued, "That year, my family's old earthen kiln cracked and collapsed, and I didn't even have the money to hire someone to repair it."

My sister also got married that year. I still remember her clothes and pants with those big patches that were patched and repaired again. Those were her wedding clothes, and they looked so shabby.

That same year, the girl I was dating in the same village married someone else, simply because she wanted fifty yuan for her mother's medical treatment, which I couldn't afford, while the other girl could.

From that moment on, I knew I was sick, sick with poverty, very sick, and needed treatment.

If I stay in the village any longer, I'll only end up as a poor bachelor.

I wanted to make money, so I went to work in the provincial capital. But I was robbed by some thugs. They didn't even spare the five yuan and a few steamed buns in my pocket.

I was fighting with those thugs. I stabbed two of them and they fell down. I don't know if they're alive or dead. I had to run because I didn't want to get caught.

Later, he traveled to the West Sea and panned for gold with others.

I haven't been home for almost three years, and in these three years, despite all the talk of striking it rich, I haven't made a single penny!

　Thank you to readers Hei A Niu Ge and ljx73 for their generous donations.

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(End of this chapter)